Darkness had already for the most part covered the magical castle this evening, and the rain beat heavily against the glass of the windows in the Gryffindor common room. Unwillingly, Harry left his favorite spot near the fireplace, where he was chatting with Ron and Hermione, and set off for Snape's office to do Occlumency. The dungeons were cold and dark, and his steps echoed in the empty corridors with a dull sound.

He hated these lessons, because his products had always been minimal and his abilities useless; but ever since that last time, when he had been taken into Snape's mind by mistake, he also feared the lessons.

Snape was seated behind his desk, intent on copying down the effects of a freshly prepared potion. He did not rise, or even look up, when he sensed Harry entering and shutting the door behind him.

"I hope that you have been training over the last few days," he said in a drawling voice. His raven-black hair grazed his sharp face above the parchment; his long fingers elegantly wielded the quill in a hypnotizing manner.

Harry was not aware that Snape had been fixing him with a penetrating gaze for a while, until he heard him say, "Potter, are you going to stand there like a stump all night?"

Red with embarrassment, the boy seated himself on the edge of a chair.

"What is that?" he asked, just to break the embarrassed silence, indicating the glass vial on the desk which contained a transparent liquid.

"Not that it is any of your business, Potter, but this is a powerful love potion. If you drink it, you will be smitten by the first person that you see; it is very difficult to prepare, and it should be used with great caution," said the professor with a hint of pride.

Harry was intrigued: he asked himself what Snape would be doing with a love potion. He doubted strongly that he would was courting Umbridge...

"Wow, sounds interesting."

"Romantic problems, Potter? That's not what your reputation around school says."

Harry blushed furiously. "Should we get started?"

Snape nodded and lifted his wand. "Concentrate on keeping me out of your mind, Potter. On my count of three: one...two...Legilimens!"

Harry was struck off guard. Suddenly the room vanished from before his eyes, and a swirling river of memories seized hold of his head. But this time he had not arrived at his lesson unprepared, and, after a few moments, he succeeded in regaining control of the situation, expelling Snape from his head.

"We're making progress, Potter!" replied the professor, gasping.

They proceeded onward for a bit. At each of Snape's attacks, Harry was a little better prepared, until he was able to exclude him entirely from his head.

"Good, good..." Snape seemed surprised and somewhat disgusted.

Harry was gasping, and his scar was burning with the effort. Suddenly they heard a thump from the floor above, followed by a yell from Filch.

Snape made a face. "Wait for me here, Potter. Empty your mind in the meantime; I shall return immediately."

Harry's throat was dry. He looked around himself in search of water, and on top of a little table nearby he saw a pitcher containing a crystalline liquid. He was not sure that it was wise to drink something in a Potions laboratory, but the fluid seemed harmless: it was colorless and odorless.

Without further thought the boy drank a glassful greedily; he felt better immediately. At that moment Snape returned, his face livid. "I really hope that those Weasley twins are expelled as soon as possible: this time their tricks have truly gone too far!" Harry did not know what they had attempted, but was aware that their type of tricks was nothing to be trifled with. Snape was coughing copiously. "Poison dust in front of the Slytherin dormitory! They'll pay for that!" he said between one round of hacking and the next. Without thinking Harry filled a cup for him. The professor drank it without hesitation: evidently he kept his office free of lethal poisons.

"Thank you, Potter," he said, looking into his eyes.

Harry suddenly felt afire, as if there were a spark in his belly, but he tried to ignore it. Snape was unexpectedly quiet and was staring at him with an odd light in his eyes, a light that Harry had never seen before.

"I think it would be better if you went now, Potter. We'll meet again on Thursday." He rose and turned his back, watching the darkness outside the window.

Harry had no wish to leave, but he decided that it was the right thing to do. He rose and left Snape's office without saying a word; but when he was halfway down the dungeon corridor, he surrendered to a mysterious force that propelled him back toward the room; it was a force so large and powerful that he could offer no resistance, as if he had been put under the Imperius curse, except that no one was forcing him to return to Snape. Harry realized with amazement that he really wanted this, he wanted to be in that room with him, and nowhere else.

He turned and walked back.

Opening the door, he saw Snape with his forehead pressed to the glass of the window; eyes closed, he whispered, "Harry, Harry, oh Harry..." It was the first time that he had heard him say his first name, and the sound was so sweet from his lips.

"I'm here," said the boy, and without thinking it through he walked over to the window and embraced his professor. The heat of his body was intoxicating, almost like a cologne. Harry clasped him and buried his face in the hollow of his neck, breathing deeply.

"Harry, what are you doing here? You should go before it's too late!" said Snape in a panic.

The boy looked at him. "Too late for what?" His eyes, green and clear, enthralled him, and Snape ceased thinking. Their faces were too close now…without warning, Snape's lips closed over the boy's: they were incredibly soft and smooth; his breath was hot inside his mouth. Harry clutched him and slid his tongue between those inviting, plump lips.

Snape seized him and pushed him against the wall, deepening the kiss. Their tongues battled furiously, fondling and tasting lazily. Snape's mouth was hot and very sweet to the taste. Harry drank greedily, unable to breathe but unwilling to come unglued from him.

Snape broke from the kiss first, dragging in air. "What are we doing?"

"I don't know, and it doesn't matter to me. Maybe tomorrow I'll go back to hating you, but tonight I can't get enough of you," said the boy, kissing his cheek, then moving down along his jaw and past it, dragging his tongue over his long white neck; Snape was trembling and gasping harshly.

"Harry, oh Harry…" he was repeating, in thrall to oblivion.

"I love it when you say my name. I want you to do it more often," he whispered in his ear, nibbling the lobe.

Snape knew that it was an effect of the potion, but he decided it did not matter. Harry was right; it would all be over far too soon.

He took the boy by the arm and bent him over the desk, casting everything to the ground. He kissed his neck and began to unbutton his school shirt feverishly, uncovering his muscular chest, well-shaped thanks to the rigorous exercise of Quidditch, and passed his wet lips over each hair that he uncovered. When he passed his tongue across one nipple, which leapt to attention, Harry let an unintended groan escape. "Bite me. I want to feel you," he said.

The professor set to work as requested, licking and nibbling the nipples of the boy who was now going out of his mind. Harry ran his fingers through Snape's hair, caressing and grasping at it; then he began to push his head downward. "Severus, I'm begging you…" Snape froze, hearing his name called with such passion.

"What is it you want, Potter?" he asked winking.

"Please...I'm going to come. I can't take it anymore!" Harry begged.

Slowly, the professor brought his face close: having Potter against the ropes gave him a secret satisfaction. "Say my name again." And he slid his tongue into his ear.

Harry shivered and shrieked, "Severus!"

With complete calm, Snape lowered his hand to the boy's belt and unfastened it, tearing off his pants.

Suddenly his penis appeared, erect, free at last.

Snape took it in his hand and began to caress it slowly, kissing the boy. When he felt that it was hard enough, he moistened his lips and trailed his tongue over its entire length, savoring its flavor and smoothness. Harry began to scream senseless phrases and move convulsively upon the desk, and, when Snape dragged his tongue over the tip, lapping up the liquid that had formed there, to Harry it seemed as if the world abruptly stopped. He had never felt so alive, even if the emotions of this evening were false, the result of an enchantment, what they were doing was real; the brand Snape was leaving upon his body was indelible, and Harry wanted it again and again.

At last Snape took it entirely in his mouth and began to move his head rhythmically, massaging the tip with his tongue and his scrotum with one hand.

Harry, gasping, grasped the papers on top of the desk fiercely in his hands, feeling that he would explode right then in Snape's hot, wet mouth; finally, after the last thrust, he came, shrieking his name and emptying himself completely down the throat of his professor, who gulped it down greedily and continued to lick him until his penis had become soft in his mouth.

When Snape rose from his knees, wiping off his mouth, he threw Harry a somewhat troubled look: his hair was ruffled, his eyes askance, and his cheeks red.

Harry lifted himself off the desk. "Where do you think you're going, Potter? I'm not done with you yet," said the professor, eyes full of excitement. A frisson shuddered down the length of the boy's spine. Snape bent to kiss him, and Harry could taste his own flavor on his lips; this almost sent him out of his head. Ardently, he began to undo Snape's pants, but he blocked him. "Slowly, Potter: good things come to those who wait." He turned to the armoire and retrieved a tube of lubricant. "I don't want to hurt you," he said.

Harry smiled. "I've lived through worse, trust me. And you could never hurt me." He approached him and kissed him passionately; his lips were more desirable than any other thing in the world.

"Leave it. I'll do it," he whispered. He lubricated his hands thoroughly and slipped them into Snape's pants; Snape let a grunt of satisfaction escape when Harry began to stroke him gently, slathering his entire member plentifully with lubricant.

"You're definitely more clever at this than at Potions..."

"Hmph. I ought to be good at something, anyway!" the boy snarked.

Then Snape's pants slid to the ground, and Harry's hand moved ever faster. Snape gasped and, pushing the boy, turned him to the desk and leaned him over it. "Are you ready?"

"I trust you."

Snape brought one finger toward the boy's entrance and slowly slipped it inside. "Relax," he whispered in his ear; then he began to move his finger in a circle. When Harry was beginning to relax, he felt a second finger slip inside. "Oh god!" he gasped.

"Am I hurting you?" Snape asked, worried.

The boy shook his head. "No, it's amazing! I want to have you inside me, Severus. I'm ready!"

When he removed his hand, Harry felt a huge void inside, yet he was ready to be refilled with something even thicker.

"Oh God, it's huge!" Harry startled.

Snape leered and slid slowly into him. The tense muscles of his backside fit perfectly with his member, thrilling him immensely. With one hand he grabbed onto the desk and took hold of the Gryffindor's penis with the other. His slow movements became faster and more spasmodic, and the strokes deeper. Harry tilted suddenly, slipping along the desk; this new angle allowed Snape to reach a particularly sensitive spot inside him. "Oh yes, Severus, there! Harder!" He was unaware that he was screaming, and it mattered little to him anyway. Snape gasped him, groaning, "I would not have believed you so lustful, Potter...and now you want more?"

After a bit Harry felt a powerful pressure at the base of his belly. He was going to explode, but he wanted more: he wanted Snape to possess his heart and body. "Oh yes! Keep going like that. I love you..." he repeated over and over.

Suddenly Snape bit down on his back and, with a powerful bellow, came inside his partner. Harry followed him a moment later, throwing his head back and spurting his come onto the desk.

They collapsed upon the table together, exhausted.

At once Harry felt a chill. They had reached the end: the magic was about to vanish...

Snape kissed his neck, dragging his tongue over the bruise he had left on his back, and then slowly withdrew from his body. The change of temperature made him instantly limp.

"What is it?" asked Snape, regarding the boy sadly.

Harry did not have the courage to look him in the face. He had told him that he loved him, and now everything was over, too soon!

"Nothing," he answered and set about dressing himself in a hurry; he noticed that the Slytherin's scent had perfumed his clothes.

Snape grabbed him by one arm and tilted his chin up, forcing him to look him in the eyes. "Harry…"

"Shh, Severus, please don't say anything. I have to go." Snape closed the distance between them and kissed him passionately. Harry gripped him fiercely.

"We've wasted so much energy hating each other; now I'm confused."

"Don't worry. Tomorrow morning everything will go back to normal," Snape responded bitterly.

"But that's the problem, don't you get it? I don't want to hate you! I can't! Now that I've seen what there could be between us, now that you've shown me the true Severus..."

Snape was silent and looked down. "You told me that you love me..."

The boy blushed. "Er, yes. You heard me."

"I think even Dumbledore heard you!"

Harry grasped him by the arm. "Listen: I'm willing to drink this potion every night, to fool the whole world; I would do whatever, really, but I want to stay with you!" He embraced him fiercely.

Snape smiled, returning the embrace. "Well, I suppose that if you devote yourself to Occlumency, next time I could reward you with a little potion, Potter," he said with a cruel sneer. Harry broke out in laughter. "Then I would be better at it than Voldemort! And maybe you could give me as many repetitions of Potions as you already have..." He watched him with intensity.

"Now go. It's very late, and tomorrow morning you have my class first thing! You know that you aren't allowed to be late."

Harry nodded and took his leave with a final sweet kiss.

Going back to his own room, he could do nothing but think, with a smile stamped on his face, that, from that evening on, Occlumancy lessons with Professor Snape would definitely be a lot more interesting.

THE END